To no longer enjoy going to starbucks, costa or cafe nero?

[slownova]

I was in town early this morning as I was at the Gym and then had to pick up on item from a shop that wasn't open until 9.30am. Years ago I used to love popping into starbucks or costa for tea and a bit of cake but I had a look in both and the cakes just looked a bit grim to me. In the end I just wondered round till the shop I wanted opened and then I went up the road to have a nice pot of tea and a homemade scone.

I still enjoy going to a nicer café with home baking and good quality tea but the appeal of places like starbucks, Nero and Costa as totally evaporated for me. I used to love getting some seasonal pumpkin loaf or ginger bread with thick buttercream icing or some kind of gingerbread / black cherry / peppermint hot chocolate but I just don't like it anymore. I also can no longer stomach hot chocolate and a cake and would have tea and cake or a hot chocolate preferably a dark chocolate one on it's own.

I do still sometimes go to costa etc if I'm meeting a friend or with my niece and there isn't anywhere else to go and sit but all the glamour it gone.

Why is that? Am I just getting old? My teenage niece still loves to go to Starbucks. I find it so expensive for what you get and the cakes aren't nice and I can make much nicer at home myself and I have better loose leaf tea which I can break out if I want a treat.

@SunnyD4ys Not in London, I imagine there you would have more choice. Where I am there aren't really any independent places and its a very cold wet part of the UK so staying outside isn't an option either much of the time. I don't drink and so we go to a cafe.

My 9 year old is obsessed with going to Starbucks. I highly resent spending £5 on the flavoured water she orders, so it's an infrequent event. I feel like it's all branding and no substance.

@roses2 I agree and I think it is more processed now, like they keep cutting costs with cheaper ingredients that makes things last longer. It taste sweet but bad and doesn't digest properly. These days I do prefer to just make my own unless I'm going to a really nice place with proper home baked cakes. I definitely prefer to pay more less often for something decent.

I’ve never enjoyed it and wouldn’t want to spend my money in them.

@AhBiscuits My Niece is the same, I want to make her happy but half the time she doesn't even like the stuff she orders she just loved the branded cups!

Bleughhh... Those chains serve revolting 'coffee'. To be fair I live in Melbourne where coffee is part of the local identity. Last time we were in the UK we were shocked at how expensive they were given the poor quality.

I love a Starbucks chai, iced or hot. I agree the cakes aren’t nice. I don’t like anything in Costa.

@HÆLTHEPAIN Well I don't think I usually go for the teacake so I'll try that next time I find myself in one!

i prefer to support independent cafes, only to find actually there are a chain, albeit smaller

agree, coffee is totally overpriced, not great (though I think the Costa coffee is ok). It always takes ages. Staff are really slow. I also shamelessly admit I miss the pre-Brexit days when it was staffed with quick working Eastern European staff. Then natives behind the counter just don't match up. Slow, often chatting to each other, looking bored or on their phone. I got a decent coffee maker instead and brew up at home.

For the price you might as well go independent. When I want a cheap coffee I go to Greggs. If I want to sit down and enjoy I go independent.

I enjoy sitting outside Costa with my skinny iced latte and people watching/listening but the cakes are crap, same at Starbucks. They always seem a bit stale and dry and they always look more flavourful than they taste so end up being a bit disappointing. There is a local independent coffee shop that does homemade scones, they never look that pretty they’re big, oddly shaped and don’t have any form of decoration but they’re light, fluffy and delicious.

I used to spend a lot of time in a local Costa in London with just a cappuccino, sometimes cake and my MacBook. It was my happy place. But I think I loved the people in there most. Made me feel part of a cool crowd.
When I moved out of London, and may be in time that happened everywhere, the places were messy and sticky, not cleaned and not left tidy by customers, the people noisy and inconsiderate, the coffee started to taste less nice and the price was too high. Druggies walking in randomly to use the toilets.
I think it was something of a treat event with inspiring atmosphere ten/twenty years ago. More of an expensive waiting room now.

This.

The tables are always sticky and the cups are stained. Tables aren’t cleared fast enough either. I feel sorry for the staff, they always look so harassed.

I went to one in Manchester Piccadilly. God it was awful, filthy, spilt coffee everywhere, massive queue for the one toilet which had a turd in it🤮

Apparently Coca Cola are considering sellling Costa because sales are falling - for less than half of what they paid for it.

Actually that’s a point, I forgot Starbucks fruit toast, that stuff is good really thickly sliced and loaded with big juicy fruit. Perfect toasted with butter.

Agree. The tea might as well be piss. It just doesn’t brew! Much rather go to an independent tea room

As I've said I do go to independents when I can but in my small town there just aren't any. Even in the closest city centre we only have chains you have to go out of the centre to the posh leafy area to find a nice independent. My local "independent" is my own kitchen, I will confess I've become rather a good baker in recent years so that might be part of the issue!

The chains flog dire coffee flavoured milks, UPF food, dirty toilets and rarely have the service or ambiance of independents. Luckily we have local independents, crackingly good at baking, with interesting decor and cheaper too!

Back in the day, those chains seemed to raise the game and I think Central Perk in Friends had created a sort of aspirational lifestyle. And it was quite exciting to be able to order a range of drinks, besides the usual offerings of tea and instant coffee. They were decorated in bold, modern styles compared to the shabby cafes and greasy spoons.

Now they’re tired, dated and since Covid invariably grubby too. My enthusiasm for supporting the food industry has waned a lot after too many dirty cups. Also we can make our own, nicer, coffees at home now and I’ve completely re educated my taste buds with home baking.

I wonder it its just all the more trendy cakes then that are the issue even in independent places these days the cakes are all biscoff this or oreo or nutella that and I'd rather just have a scone or some gingerbread!

@YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME I envy you! I'm sure a nice independent place opened here it would do well!

I agree with you, and I avoid them unless I'm stuck waiting for a late train.

Costa and Nero: everything is sweet. I truly don't understand how, in an age of low-sugar, they aren't doing at least one food thing that's savoury.

Costa: their menu board cycles too fast. It's a real accessibility issue. I now have poor eyesight and I struggle to read the board fast enough. Then they ask me for my order. Guys I have read ONE thing and understood it and then it changed. I cannot do that any more and I feel old and useless. Give me a fucking break. On the off chance that anyone from Costa is reading this, sort yourselves out. Most of your clientele are ageing!

Starbucks is ok but less decent coffee and not a good corporation.

And they are all usually dirty. Sticky tables etc.

There's just no appeal when you compare to the stupendously nice coffee places round my way where if you want food you can get a home-baked proper sausage roll or a decent open sandwich. It's like night and day.

To be honest, I don’t think they were ever any good. To me those coffee chains are the coffee equivalent of McDonalds.

i am aware though that being in London I am spoilt for choice of options.

I used to really like Harris + Hoole but Tesco got rid of them and put yet more Gregg's in them instead.

We don't have a Starbucks but Costa is overpriced, the cakes are absolutely tiny for the price you pay. The toilets are always filthy, I always hope the staff aren't using them but they probably are.

The surroundings are generally grubby and it's always really noisy and hard to have a conversation.

I much prefer an independent cafe with cared for surroundings and clean toilets.